Thor is The Galaxy Sentinel in The Last Warlord

7 The Mission After searching for hours, Rock finally found the tall office building made of glass, with a radio-transmitting tower on top. He entered and headed to the elevator, then keyed in the code on the elevator buttons, taking him far underground. When the elevator door opened, Rock paused for a moment in amazement, the walls consisted of computer panels, with workstations here and there. Some panels, were for data entry; a while others looked as if they were for listening, and other kinds of information gathering devises. Ignored by everyone, Rock walked down aisle after aisle, passing more computer work stations than he cared to know.’ After awhile, someone finally spoke to him and said, The person you want to see is over there, pointing in another direction. Rock walked down another aisle and around a corner and up to a young lady dressed in white, sitting behind a desk. She glanced up at Rock and said casually, “I suppose you’re the new replacement,” before Rock could utter a word, he heard a voice boom through a small box on the secretary’s desk that said, “Send that person in, right away. A computer panel behind the desk slid open, Rock slowly walked in, and the panel quickly snapped shut, leaving him feeling trapped in a large office crowded with bookshelves full of books. Across the room from him was an oak desk with the most comfortable looking chair behind it, but no one was there. Rock softly whispered, “hello, is anyone here?” A much higher voice came from behind the desk and said, “I’ll be with you in a moment, please be seated.” Curiosity got the better of Rock; he had to peek over the top of the large desk, to see who was there. He carefully walked up to the desk, and put his hands on the desk for support. When Rock leaned forward on his tiptoes too see who it was, a man, about three feet tall, looked up at him smiling. Rock replied, “You’re a midget! The Mission 63 The little man answered, “Surprised, most people are, you know, I guess it’s that voice modulator I installed, a person my size needs all the help they can get. My name is Sal, also the CEO and your new boss; please sit so we can start with the meeting. There really isn’t much to discuss, Thor filled me in on all I need to know, and what he didn’t tell me, is right here in your folder. Matter of fact, I just finished talking to Thor a few minutes ago, I sure hope you can solve our problem.” Rock, your job is the most important one in our operation. All the paper we generate must be disposed of properly. Every note, inner office memo, everything must be destroyed, in other words, you are our new janitor. Rock thought to himself, This is perfect, I can snoop around and not be noticed. “It’s almost lunchtime. Care to join me?” Sal hopped out of his chair and walked over to the bookshelves to his left, and pushed a book. The wall opened up, revealing a fully staffed cafeteria. Rock asked in wonder, “All of this is just for you?” Sal replied, “Bend down for a moment, let me see if you are sick or something. What do you think I am? This is the Information Department’s staff cafeteria. After lunch, the secretary will show you you’re living quarters. Rock’s face sank as he asked, “You mean we have to live underground, like moles?” Sal chuckled, then said, “Once you see the entire complex, you will change your mind. By that look on your face, it tells me there is something on your mind, What is it?” Rock went to replied but, a panel slid open at the far end of the cafeteria, the secretary was standing there, motioning for Rock to follow her. They walked past her desk and continued straight to a computer panel on the far wall. The secretary pushed several buttons on the terminal, and suddenly a whole section slid back three feet, and then to the right. They entered a small room with a time clock on the right wall. The sectary explained, “This is where you will punch in for work and after lunch, you have one hour to eat or do whatever you want.” She then opened a door across from the time clock, at that moment Rock just had to make a sarcastic remark, and said, “Hey! A door, a real door! Will wonders never cease?” The secretary continued into the next room just as if she had never heard Rock’s comment. “This is our lunch, recreation and living area,” the secretary said, “Pointing out a vast, underground area and said, “Here we have a lake, with a beach, a large 64 Thor is The Galaxy Sentinel in The Last Warlord park with tennis, and even a place to play baseball or football. There is lots of real, green grass for picnics, and all kinds of tropical birds and animals. Rock tapped the secretary on the shoulder and asked, “aren’t football and baseball Earth games?” She replied, “Your point is?” The secretary continued her tour, as formal as always, and said, “Now, if you will follow me, the housing area is just on the other side of these woods.” Rock asked, “What is the size of the underground complex?” She answered, “It’s approximately ten square miles, and about three quarters of a mile underground in solid rock. We are fully electric, all the trees and grass are real, our air is circulated, by vast air ducts. Back to what I was talking about, on your day off you can fish in our lake, or stream, if you like.” Rock was not into fishing, so he tried to get the secretary to skip the part about fishing, but to no avail. Rock found out that the water in the lake was pumped underground to the top of a huge waterfall, that flowed back to the lake with a beautiful stream full of fish. When they came out on the other side of the woods, a small town with stores, a post office and even a police station stood in front of Rock. Each street was lined with houses with a yard, driveway, and a mailbox. Some homes were small, some big; but what Rock liked the most was the color. No standardized color was allowed, they believed that a variety of color made a good neighborhood. The secretary handed Rock a piece of paper and said, “Here is your address, your keys are on the kitchen table. Follow the street signs and you will be able to find your way around very easily. Be at work tomorrow morning at eight o’clock sharp, and don’t be late. We will fill you in on your job duties then, but for now, enjoy yourself.” The secretary stepped into the woods and vanished. Her quick disappearance puzzled Rock, after he searched for her, he came up with nothing and gave up, and concentrated on the subject at hand. Rock’s further investigation into the secretary’s vanishing act revealed, that the she was an elaborate computer program, to show new employees around the complex. Rock introduced himself to the people around his new neighborhood, while he looked for his own place. He compiled a large amount of data right from the beginning with bugging and listening devises planted around the complex, plus miniature cameras everywhere, ready to pick-up the smallest clue. Rock even checked every computer panel in the complex; they all checked out clean. He thought to himself, maybe the problem is in our computer that’s fouling up, then he started to climb the cliff next to the waterfalls. Once at the top, he sat The Mission 65 down, leaned up against a large boulder and began to study his notes, hoping to find something he had missed, before reporting in to Mother Weasel. Rock was ready to call it quits, when a little old man, bent over, with a staff in his hand, said, “Hey! Aren’t you the new guy we hired?”